Developer Naughty Dog's blockbuster 2020 release, The Last of Us 2, was met with pushback by many players. However, the game went on to be one of the most successful of the year in terms of sales and critical reception. The Last of Us 2 won at least 130 Game of the Year awards from media outlets around the world, and swept The Game Awards 2020 in seven categories.
The acclaimed sequel's developers do not live in a bubble, and had the chance to play all manner of video games while working on their own AAA title. After PlayStation Blog published a list of its subsidiary developers' favorite games from 2020 on December 31, Naughty Dog followed up with a blog post on January 1, 2021 focused entirely on its team members' favorite games.
This post was meant to highlight and "celebrate some of the games that inspired, thrilled, and, above all, entertained" Naughty Dog developers in 2020, according to its preamble. The title that received the most ink was Sucker Punch Productions' Ghost of Tsushima, which was the favored game of vice president Christian Gyrling, co-game director Kurt Margenau, and quality assurance director Patrick Goss.
Margenau's opinion regarding Ghost of Tsushima, as well as co-game director Anthony Newman's take on his favorite game choice No Man's Sky, were both echoed in the PlayStation Blog post. However, other prominent Naughty Dog employees expressed an interest in other titles, with co-president Neil Druckmann favoring Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout and co-president Evan Wells favoring Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
A number of other games were recognized in the Naughty Dog blog post, including Astro's Playroom, Demon's Souls on PS5, Final Fantasy 7 Remake, as well as indie titles For The King and Griftlands. The post ends with the sentiment that it's nearly impossible to list everyone's favorite games, and thanks developers all over the industry that are working to craft "indelible memories" for fans to experience.
While The Last of Us 2 has been a Game of the Year contender in many circles, it is not the only title to receive the accolade from different venues. Supergiant Games' Hades has been a major force during awards shows, for example, and Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 2 won GOTY in the 2020 Steam Awards. Now that 2021 has begun, it will be interesting to see what titles rise above the rest and capture peoples' attentions throughout the new year.
Naughty Dog's The Last of Us 2 is available now on PS4.
Source: Naughty Dog